Effects of Multi-Stage Continuous Drought on Photosynthetic Characteristics, Yield and Water Use Efficiency of Winter Wheat

A drought event can cause entire crops to fail or yield loss.In order to study the effects of continuous drought on photosynthetic characteristics,yield,and water use efficiency(WUE)of winter wheat(Triticum aestivum L.),the winter wheat variety“Aikang 58”was selected as test material with controlling the water of the pot-planted winter wheat under a mobile rainout shelter.Based on foot planting and safe wintering,winter wheat was evaluated under different drought conditions,including light,moderate and severe drought at the jointing(B),heading(C),and filling(G)stages.The soil water content was controlled in a range of 60%to 70%,50%to 60%,and 40%to 50%of the field capacity,respectively.In the experiment,there were 9 single-stage droughts,3 three-stage droughts,and 1 test control(totaling 13 trials).The results are as follows:Under a single-stage drought,the change of net photosynthetic rate(Pn)and stomatal conductance(Gs)have similar trends,and they both decrease significantly with the severity of the drought.Under three-stage continuous droughts,the change curve of Gs shows a constant downward trend;the change curve of Pn showed a“valley shape,”and the minimum value of Pn appeared at the heading stage.All droughts will reduce the yield of winter wheat.Under the three-stage continuous drought conditions,except for light drought,moderate drought and severe drought will cause significant yield reduction,mainly due to lack of water at the jointing and heading stages.Continuous drought will reduce the WUE,and the difference will reach a significant level under moderate and severe drought.The present results suggested that when water resources are scarce,it is a better irrigation model to save water and achieve high grain yield by applying appropriate water stress(60%–70%FC)during the critical growth period of winter wheat.

Analysis on the Disastrous Weather of Serious Drought in Northwest Hunan in Summer and Autumn of 2009

[Objective] The research aimed to analyze the disastrous weather of serious drought in Northwest Hunan in summer and autumn of 2009.[Method] According to the meteorological data in Zhangjiajie of Northwest Hunan during the drought period from June to September,2009,the disaster characteristics of continuous drought in summer and autumn were analyzed.Based on NCEP/NCAR 2.5°×2.5° reanalysis data,by using the climatic diagnostic method,the formation reason of serious drought was initially analyzed from the circulation characteristics in the middle and high latitudes,Western Pacific subtropical high,the abnormal characteristics of sea surface temperature in the equatorial Middle Eastern Pacific Ocean and the tropical system activity.[Result] The characteristics of serious drought in Northwest Hunan in summer and autumn of 2009 were the quick developed speed,wide influence range,long duration,big disaster loss and long high temperature time.The influence range,duration and harm degree were rare to see in the history.During the arid period(June-September),the atmospheric circulation was abnormal.The polar vortex in the northern hemisphere was weak,and the center was by north.It was two-trough-one-ridge type in the middle and high latitudes of Eurasia.The long-wave trough existed respectively near Balkhash Lake and from Sea of Okhotsk to the east coast in China.The long-wave ridge maintained from Lake Baikal to Central Asia and stabilized in 90°-110° E of Central Asia.From the middle dekad of June to the middle dekad of September,the westerly index increased.The zonal circulation was the main one in the middle and high latitudes of Eurasia.The cold air in the high-latitude frontal zone spread eastward with the small-amplitude fluctuation form along the latitude circle direction,and was difficult to pass the westerly barrier near 45° N to reach the low latitude.Meanwhile,Western Pacific subtropical high jumped northward to control Jiangnan and South China for a long time.The down airflow was prevalent.It was hot and rainless.The drought developed quickly.The sea surface temperature in the equatorial Middle Eastern Pacific Ocean started to rise in June,and it entered into El Nino state.When El Nino event of obvious temperature increasing started to appear in spring and summer,the plum rain amount was less in the middle and low reaches of Yangtze River in the year or next year.The probability was 80%.In El Nino year,the typhoon was less.In addition,for the influence of strong Western Pacific subtropical high,the landing pathway of typhoon was by east or south.The kind of typhoon had the small role for easing the drought in Northwest Hunan.[Conclusion] The research provided the theory basis for improving the prediction level of short-term climate and the understanding of extreme climate event.